Love and work don’t always mix

Concealing an intimate relationship at work can have disastrous consequences, especially when you’re in charge of managing human resources.  

Cass. soc. 29 May 2024, no. 22-16.218

CA Bordeaux 17 April 2024 no. 21/01972

Ah, love at work! According to a recent study on romance at work by Technologia and the University of Paris-I Panthéon-Sorbonne, 1 in 2 French people have already had a romantic relationship at work. But when Cupid shoots his arrows in the office, it can lead to complicated situations. A case in point was recently examined by the Cour de cassation and the Cour d’appel in Bordeaux, where employees in management positions and responsible for human resources management hid an intimate relationship with a female employee from their employers. The result? Dismissals for gross misconduct, validated by the judges.  

• The boundary between private life and professional obligations can sometimes seem blurred, but it does exist.

In principle, what happens in an employee’s private life should remain private. However, when it interferes with professional obligations, the situation changes completely. In these two cases, the judges ruled that concealing an intimate relationship in a sensitive position constitutes serious misconduct.  

• Love at work: a closer look at the cases examined by the judges

Court of Cassation case law: imagine yourself in a meeting with your other half, discussing such sensitive issues as redundancy plans and strike action. On the one hand, you are representing management; on the other, your partner is representing the trade union… Talk about a conflict of interests! This is precisely the case examined by the Court, which led to the Director’s dismissal for gross misconduct.   Case law from the Bordeaux Court of Appeal: a HR manager had ‘a very intimate relationship’ with an employee. ‘According to the employee, this personal relationship took a turn that had both unexpected and harmful consequences on the way she performed her work and on her position vis-à-vis you in the company’s professional environment’. She lodged a complaint. In the end, she withdrew her complaint and the HR Director was acquitted. He got off criminally, but was nonetheless dismissed for serious misconduct.  

• Obligations of loyalty and neutrality: key principles to be respected

While, in principle, an employee’s personal life cannot justify dismissal for misconduct, this is not the case when the employee has breached an obligation arising from his employment contract. In the case of a HR director who was in a relationship with a staff representative, the Cour de cassation ruled that by concealing this relationship, he had breached his duty of loyalty. For judges, it is essential to maintain total transparency in situations that may affect the proper performance of professional duties. According to the High Court, ‘an employee may be guilty of disloyalty if he conceals from his company situations affecting him in connection with the performance of his professional duties or that may have consequences for them’. The Court of Cassation added that the absence of prejudice to the employer was irrelevant. The duty of loyalty has been breached, and it is this breach that justifies dismissal for gross misconduct. In short, concealing a relationship can be very, very costly. The Bordeaux Court of Appeal ruled that ‘by maintaining an intimate relationship with [la salariée], [le DRH] breached the obligation of neutrality incumbent on a human resources manager and the obligation of loyalty towards his employer, whom he had not informed of his personal situation and the consequences of this on the performance of his duties’. The Court of Appeal noted that the HRD ‘supervised and even intervened in the performance of the duties of the human resources manager, taking part, even in an advisory capacity, in decisions relating to disciplinary procedures and decisions and to the career development of employees’.  

• Live the relationship yes, hide it no

Please note that it is not the romantic relationship itself that poses a problem, but the fact that it was concealed. Informed, the employer can take steps to avoid a conflict of interest. So, dear office lovers, if love is knocking at your door, make sure you open it to your superiors too. Inform your employer before this relationship costs you your professional relationship. Loyalty is not just an empty word, it’s a duty…. Employers, you can provide your employees with declaration forms concerning a conflict of interest, but they will have no binding force since every employee has the right to his or her private life.